Trump blames Kirk judge for three-year timetable proposed by defence

The roughly three-year wait Donald Trump cited in attacking the judge in Charlie Kirk’s killing came from the defence’s proposed timetable. It had not been imposed by the judge when Trump posted — and prosecutors themselves were seeking a trial in January 2028, not within a month.

On Truth Social on 23 October 2026, the president wrote that the case should be tried “within a month, not three years” and accused the judge of “taking forever to ask questions that people already know the answer to”. He posted before Judge Tony Graf’s already scheduled hearing that afternoon in Provo, Utah, to discuss trial dates.

Tyler Robinson, 23, has pleaded not guilty to seven charges, including aggravated murder, over Kirk’s fatal shooting at Utah Valley University on 10 September 2025. Kirk was a conservative activist and Trump ally. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Where the timetables came from

Graf had required both sides to explain their preparation needs, estimate jury-selection and trial time, and account separately for any death-penalty phase, according to KSL. Its report on the order said the proposed schedule would not be binding and could be adjusted.

In their 21 October filing, Robinson’s lawyers suggested a trial starting in the third quarter of 2029 and lasting six to seven months. They called the possible start date a “necessarily speculative approximation”, in the memorandum quoted by KSL.

Prosecutors expected to be ready by October 2027, the Associated Press reported. But they proposed 31 January 2028 to avoid beginning what they estimated would be a 17-week trial shortly before Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The defence said it needed to examine tens of thousands of files supplied by prosecutors, investigate Robinson’s life for factors that might mitigate his sentence if convicted, and devote substantial time to jury selection. Its lawyers argued that predicting a firm date at this stage risked false precision.

Kirk’s widow, Erika, was also pressing for speed. Reuters reported that she requested a trial as early as possible in 2027, preferably no later than 4 October. Her lawyers called the defence’s proposed schedule “absurd” and accused Robinson of trying to delay, according to AP.

What the judge had already decided

Graf sent all seven charges for trial on 1 September. His ruling distinguished probable cause — the threshold for a case to proceed — from proof beyond reasonable doubt. One contested issue was whether the shot exposed someone besides Kirk to a great risk of death, and whether the shooter knew of that danger, as required for the aggravated-murder allegation. Graf left proof of that allegation beyond reasonable doubt for trial.

At that hearing, prosecutor Chad Grunander described the evidence as overwhelming and said the state “would take this case to trial tomorrow if we could”, according to a transcript published by Rev. The prosecution’s formal October proposal nevertheless allowed roughly another year for preparation.

The same transcript records an earlier date for the scheduling hearing, 24 September, being discussed. Defence lawyer Richard Novak said he was unavailable, and the court settled on 23 October.

Trump did not identify which questions he considered unnecessary, and the defence’s estimate did not settle how much preparation was justified. His attack nevertheless gives a misleading account of the timetable: the three-year wait was a party’s proposal, while even prosecutors sought a start far beyond his one-month demand.